Vending machine



Oct. w, 1944. L. o. GARNER 2,359,984

VENDING MACHINE Original Filed May 17, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 n Fm INVENTOR.

LUE O.GARNER BY W4 ATTY L. O. GARNER VENDING MACHINE INV ENT OR. LUE O.GARNER ATTY Patented Oct. 10, 1944 2,359,984 VENDING "MACHINE Lue 0.Garner, Memphis, Tenn, assignor to Kennon Mott, Columbus, Ga.; Registertemporary administrator of Kennon Mott, deceased Original applicationMay 17, 1941, Serial No. 393,866. Divided and this application January10, 1942, Serial No. 426,269

3 Claims.

This invention relates to bottle racks for machines for vending bottledgoods in single items direct to the customer, and is a division of myco-pending application'for Vending machines,

Serial No. 393,866, filed May 17, 1941, now Patent i 2,338,714, issuedJanuary 11, 1944.

It will be understood that while the device is primarily intended forbottled goods it is similarly applicable to and useful in connectionwith,

the dispensing of substantially any article of circular cross section,particularly articles of small size.

Vending machines for bottled goods present a quite simple storageproblem where small numbers of bottles are concerned, but where largernumbers are concerned heights or widths must necessarily be increasedinvolving in the one case undue pressures when the case is full and inthe other undesired spread as well as other difiiculties. is involvedother and greater problems arise if sufficient storage is to beprovided.

The objects of the present invention are:

To provide means for storing in compact vertically disposed units aconsiderable number of articles for dispensing;

To provide means utilizing lateral pressures of individual articles ofone column for equalizing and reducing pressures of an otherwiseunobstructed column;

To provide means for housing a plurality of such units;

To provide means for feeding the articles of each unit successively, oneat a time, to the dispensing apparatus, and generally to improve thedesign and construction of such devices.

In accomplishing the objects of the invention I provide an insulatedcasing in which are housed one Or more, here indicated as four,vertically disposed storage racks, each rack in the instant showingcomprising a unit holding twenty-four bottles for dispensing, thetwenty-four bottle unit being selected because of the very common customof handling bottles in case lots each con taining twenty-four bottles.

The casing may also house suitable refrigerating apparatus and chillingcoils for cooling the stored bottles, as shown in the parent applicationabove referred to, but not here reproduced, since they form no part ofthe instant invention.

The bottles in each unit are released in succession by suitablereleasing apparatus which permits the discharge by gravity of one bottleat each operation. The preferred type of this release apparatus is fullydisclosed in my co-pend- Also where more than one kind of goods J.Willard said ing application, above referred to, to which reference ishere made and forms no specific .part of the present invention.

The means by which the foregoing and other objects are accomplished andthe method of their accomplishment will readily be understood from thefollowing specification upon reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation of the device with the casing broken away inpart to show one of the racks and portions of the other racks.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken as on the line II--II of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings in which the various parts are indicatedby numerals:

II is a casing, preferably insulated, having suitable framing I3, inwhich casing are housed a plurality of the instant bottle racks, four ofthese, A, B, C, and D, being here indicated. Each rack includes parallelupright sides l5 and I6, each here shown as comprising pairs of members,the members being supported at their upper and lower ends by the framingI3 and transverse members 19 forming a part of such framing.

One side, as the side I5, is preferably straight from top to bottom, andthe other, as the side 46, for a major portion of its length from thetop erably integral, downwardly continuing, portions I ii-B spacedsomewhat in excess of a single bottle diameter from the opposite side l5forming below suchoffset a single channelway only.

The rack units, as the units A and B, shown, may be entirely divorcedor, as shown by the units C and D, they may haveone side, as the sideIS, in common. Extending from the side [6 inward toward the side l5, areshelves 2| which interrupt the channelway adjacent the side IS. Theshelves 2| are downwardly pitched at an angle which will insuredischarge of bottles from such shelves, the shelves terminating adjacentthe vertical center line of the rack, so that they discharge the bottlesinto the unobstructedchannelway when occasion permits.

22 is a bottom plate which, as shown beneath racks A and B, may beindividual for each rack, or, as shown beneath racks C andD, may extendcontinuously beneath all.

23 are back members for the racks, against which members the bottom endsof the bottles are abutted when the bottles are placed in the racks.These members extend from top to bottom of the two channelways of eachrack, but terminate'at least a full bottle diameter above the plat 22 topermit discharge of the bottles beneath the members. Individual backmembers are shown for each channelway of the racks A and B, butobviously a single wider back may be used behind both of the channelwaysof the rack,

or a single back, as the plate 23-A, may serve for the lower bottles ofsuch units successively as they feed down by gravity. Such means maycomprise for each unit amechanism such as described in my saidco-pending application, this including a lowering cradle 25, arcuatelycurved in cross section to conformingly receive and descend under theweight of each lower bottle successively, and tiltably mounted asthrough a pin 21 on a reciprocable rod 29 to effect discharge. The rod29 is connected at its lower end through a link 3| to one end of a lever33, pivoted intermediate its length as by a pin 35 to a depending post31, the lever being. biased, as by weighting, to return the cradle tobottle receiving position after each bottle discharge. The lower bottlel'|-A of each unit and the superposed bottles,

are supported by a dog 39 held by a latch 41 untilsuch dog is unlatchedand released by suitable mechanism which may include a solenoid 43, thedog being displaced by the downward movement .of the said lower bottleand reestablished and -ply of bottles in the rack.

In operation the racks are filled either with bottles all of onekind, orif preferred with bottles of different brands of drinks to be dispensed.The bottles are withdrawn at the option of the purchaserrfrom any one ofthe racks. In this operation the latch 4|, by energization of thesolenoid 43, releases the dog 39 and permits the weight of the column ofbottles to force the cradle 25 downward until the engagement and actionof the dogs 45 and 39 moves the latter dog in supporting positionbeneath the next succeeding bottle llB, allowing further descent of thecradle and ultimate discharge to be accomplished by the weight of asingle bottle. After discharge the shelf 2lA, the bottle, as the bottlel1-D,

supported by such shelf rolls laterally into the unobstructedchannelway, becoming on further descent of the bottle I1C the top bottlein the unobstructed channelway and subsequently, on descent past thenext lower shelf, is itself supplanted as the top bottle, this actioncontinuing until both channelways are entirely empty, the last bottledischarged being the lowest bottle of the obstructed channelway.

It will be noted that each of the shelf-supported bottles, alternatelycrows forward toward the unobstructed channelway as space between thedescending bottles in the unobstructed channelway permits, this actionto a large extent relieving the pressure which an entirely filledunobstructed channelway would have on the cradle when the release of thedog 39 permits direct thrust, and it will of course be understood thatif the discharge angle of the shelves 2| be too steep that such actionwould entirely block the descent of the column. It will be noted,however, that the unequal spacing of the bottles in the two columns,caused by the interposition of shelves, prevents concurrent lockingaction by all the bottles.

I claim:

1. In a bottle vending machine, the combination with a casing having arear door, and a front opening for delivery of said bottles, arearwardly open bottle rack, disposed in said casing with its rearwardlyopen side accessible for filling through said door When open, said rackbeing supported at its upper and lower ends by said casing, andincluding side'members spaced apart in substantially parallel verticalplanes to loosely hold two columns of superposed horizontally disposedbottles therebetween, and a front member extending from the upper end ofsaid sides downward therealong, one of said side members above the lowerend of the other thereof, converging abruptly toward the said other end,thence extending downwardly parallel therewith to establish below saidconvergence a single column, and above said convergence carrying shelvesspaced apart to receive and support single bottles of one said column,said shelves extending substantially to the center of the space betweensaid side members and defining obstructed and unobstructed columns forsaid bottles, and being inclined to discharge by gravity into saidunobstructed column, said unobstructed column extending below 'saidshelves, and said front member terminating above the lower end of saidunobstructed column to allow forward discharge of bottles beneath saidfront, and means for removing bottles singly and successively from thebottom of said unobstructed column forwardly beneath said front memberand through said delivery opening.

2.-In a bottle vending machine, the combination with a casing having arear door, and a front opening for delivery of said bottles, arearwardly open bottle rack, disposed in said casing with its rearwardlyopen side accessible for filling through said door when open, and'b-eingforwardly inclined from bottom to top, said rack being supported at itsupper and lower ends by said casing, and including side members spacedapart in substantially parallel vertical planes to loosely hold twocolumns of superposed horizontally disposed bottles therebetween, and afront member extending from the upper end of said sides downwardtherealong, on of said side members terminating at its lower end abovethe lower end of the other thereof, and carrying shelves spaced apart toreceive and support single bottles of one said column, said shelvesextending substantially to the center of the space between said sidemembers and defining obstructed and unobstructed columns for saidbottles, and being inclined to discharge -by gravity into saidunobstructed column, means below said shelves cooperating with thecontinuing said side member to extend said unobstructed column belowsaid shelves, and said front member terminating above the lower end ofsaid unobstructed column to allow forward discharge of bottles beneathsaid front, and means for removing bottles singly and successively fromthe bottom of said unobstructed column forwardly beneath said front andthrough said delivery opening.

3. In a bottle vending machine, the combination with a casing having arear door, and a front opening for delivery of said bottles, arearwardly open bottle rack disposed in said casing with its rearwardopen side accessible for filling through said door when open, and beingforwardly inclined from bottom to top, said rack being supported at itsupper and lower ends by said casing, and including side members spacedapart in substantially parallel vertical planes to loosely hold twocolumns of superposed horizontally disposed bottles therebetween, and afront member extending from the upper end of said sides downwardtherealong, one of said side members above the lower end of the otherthereof converging abruptly toward the said other and thence downwardparallel therewith to establish below said convergence a single columnand above said convergence carrying shelves spaced apart to receive andsupport single bottles of one said column, said shelves extendingsubstantially to the center of the space between said side members anddefining obstructed and unobstructed columns for said bottles, and beinginclined to discharge by gravity into said unobstructed column, saidunobstructed column extending below said shelves, and said front memberterminating above the lower end of said unobstructed column to allowforward discharge of bottles beneath said front, and means for removingbottles singly and successively from the bottom of said unobstructedcolumn forwardly beneath said front member and through said deliveryopening.

LUE O. GARNER.

